Māori vocalist Johnnie Kapua turns heads on The Voice USA

An Aotearoa singer is making serious waves on one of the biggest music shows in the world.

Johnnie Kapua (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu) has become the first known Māori artist to compete on The Voice USA, impressing both the audience and coaches during a blind audition that's already racked up more than a million views online.

The Utah-based singer performed Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga's Die With a Smile and didn't have to wait long for a reaction. Within seconds, two coaches had turned their chairs, with Kelly Clarkson and Queen Latifah both keen to have him on their teams.

This season's coaching panel includes Adam Levine (returning for his 19th season) Kelly Clarkson (returning for her 11th season), Queen Latifah, and country star Riley Green, putting Johnnie in front of some major names from across the music world.

For country fans here in New Zealand, Riley's involvement adds an extra reason to keep an eye on the competition. While the country singer didn't turn his chair for Johnnie's audition, he's assembling his own team of contestants in the hopes of winning his first season.

You can watch The Voice USA on TVNZ, with new episodes releasing 5pm Fridays.

Going into the audition, Johnnie said he wasn't putting too much pressure on himself.

"Going into it, I was like, I'm just going to go for the experience, give it a wham, do my thing," he said.

Even so, there was one coach he particularly hoped would turn around.

"I was like, if I get a chair turn, if there's a chair turn that I want to get turned, it's going to be Kelly."

That's exactly what happened. Kelly hit her button almost immediately, and because she used her 'First In' advantage, Johnnie was automatically placed on her team. Queen Latifah turned soon after, but Kelly's earlier move meant the decision had already been made.

The former American Idol winner was full of praise for Johnnie's performance.

"You sing with such soulfulness. You have a different cadence to your vibe and your style and I really dig it," Kelly told him.

Queen Latifah was equally impressed and said the finer details of his performance were things that could easily be worked on during the competition.

"That was beautiful," she said. "I thought there were a couple spots where you kind of got a little loose with your breath. Those are coachable things. The rest is about getting everybody else out of your head, and that I can help you with."

The Voice USA follows a blind audition format, where coaches listen to singers without seeing them perform. If they like what they hear, they hit a button and their chair turns around. From there, each coach builds a team of artists and mentors them through the competition.

The winner takes home a US$100,000 prize along with a recording contract.

Back home, Johnnie's achievement is already being celebrated as a landmark moment for Māori representation on one of America's biggest entertainment platforms.

His older brother, Te Hiwi Preston, proudly shared the news on social media, writing:

"Baby brother who lives in America, became the first Māori boy from Aotearoa to make the Voice USA!"

With a spot on Kelly's team secured and plenty of attention already building around his audition, Johnnie's journey on The Voice USA is only just getting started, and plenty of Kiwi viewers will no doubt be following along, especially with Riley Green also in the mix.

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Hear Riley Green and more of your favourite country artists on iHeartCountry NZ by using the player below.